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Leadyl and Mitch sat in a dark, musty, candle lit room filled with scattered scrolls, parchments and tomes piled high on shelves and a desk Bilgrammus sat behind looking at them intently. The room at the top of one of the square towers of the keep was built especially for Bilgrammus perpetuating the stories of wizards and their dark towers where strange and powerful magic is performed. “You do know all of this," Bilgrammus paused waving his hands about the room, "is a façade do you not?” When they looked at him with muddled expressions, he realized that they did not. “I suppose not and it truly is not your fault, for it seems on our worlds it is predicated that to be a wizard you have to live in a dark musty tower that stinks of old tomes and scrolls, look and be three hundred years old, and as in my case it is more close to being true than not, and have long white hair to go with a long white beard. Let us not forget you need to be an ugly old man! For the most part all of these old dusty books and parchments are really fluff. Yes, yes I see the looks on your faces, good information is contained in some of this rubbish piled in here but what you need to learn is in your head,” he said stabbing his index finger multiple times into the side of his head emphasizing his words.
“You mean like when I used my imagination to come here from my ship and give my sword certain powers?” Mitch asked quizzically. With a sigh, Bilgrammus sat back in his chair with a thoughtful expression on his face for a moment. They looked around the room still not believing a treasure trove of information is not hidden here, and if they could spend a month in here sifting through all of it they would come out powerful wizards.
“They are still not going to help you,” Bilgrammus stated flatly. When they looked at him quizzically he continued, ”the books my children, the books! As with many things in our world, you will find myth, and truth. Myth as far as I know, is one-person can shield a city, or an entire castle. The flying ships, the ones you told the duke about are a mammoth problem for the duke. So what was his first thought?” he asked, but did not give them time to answer before he continued. “The duke wants me to stand at the top of one of the towers and create a massively powerful shield that will prevent them from attacking from the air,” he concluded in an exasperated tone.
“Bilgrammus I have studied in detail earth’s Middle Ages specifically weapons and battles. I have some ideas that might help the duke, but the magic portion I am not familiar enough to help. If we mount ballista on top of each tower, and adjust them for range, direction and elevation could we not innate the steel heads on the poles with magic to pierce their magic shields?” Mitch asked.
“Their magic shields could be pierced in that fashion but unless you kill the dark wizards the shield will hold. It would certainly damage their ships and if we destroy the base for the magic the shield should weaken if not fail entirely.”
“Carrying it a step further if we had a wizard on top of each tower striking at the same moment as the ballista would that enhance the ballista attack?”
“It would at that Mitch but until the protective shield is down the magic attacks from the wizard would be either completely or partially blocked depending on how powerful the wizards are. I believe these attacks would wear down the shield if not make it eventually fail entirely and as the ships draw closer we could have mangonels placed around the outer bailey with their buckets filled with sharp steel innate with magic that should get past the shield. In that sense, the steel should shred the sails and rigging thereby slowing them and in the process kill the soldiers on deck.”
“You could put grappling hooks on the ends of the spears with ropes attached and shoot them from the ballista. Once they latch onto the sides of the ships men on windlasses could pull the ship lower so archers on the walls can add to the mayhem,” Leadyl chimed in. Both men paused looking at her with smiles on their faces liking her idea, she smiled inkind pleased with their reaction.
“Very well I will inform the duke of your ideas and hopefully enough wizards will answer the call and arrive in time. We need more of them merely to enchant the steel and you can rest assured the dark ones will have far more at their disposal than we do. Mitch when you talked about the impenetrable shield, do you think the shield was one massive cohesive shield protecting their entire fleet or individual shields?” Bilgrammus asked with a contemplative expression on his face.
“I cannot say for sure it could have been one solid wall. When we tried to penetrate it with our modern weapons, they did not have any effect on it. They stayed in formation like a fleet would on water and when we tried to break through our ships were destroyed. It is possible they were all individual, but now that I think about it I do not think so.”
“It seems that the dark ones have gained in power far beyond our current abilities. I think they have found a way to join the individual shields into one. It would take enormous concentration to do so. They would need a minimum of two wizards per ship. One to form the shield and one to attack at the same time in that way each could concentrate on their specific tasks,” Bilgrammus theorized. “If time permits I will need to study this in great detail,” he said as an afterthought.
“Bilgrammus I have two questions if I may?” Mitch asked politely.
“Yes you may Mitch ask away I will be as forthcoming as I can.”
“Why was my fleet destroyed and who opened the threshold allowing us to escape?" Mitch asked gravely and inquisitively at the same time. Taking his hand in hers Leadyl squeezed it in reassurance.
“If I may be so bold and as to be as matter of fact as I can be, I would have to say the dark ones wanted you dead before you even got here so they sacrificed your entire armada. As to the second question I can only surmise the protectors of the light deemed it time to bring you here.” Bilgrammus paused at the pained expression on Mitch’s face giving him a moment to come to terms with what he had told him. "It took great power for the dark ones to put an armada that large into space but at a cost to them for even their power is not unlimited. They risked a lot on one gambit to end the threat of you surviving to arrive here it has surely weakened them. As a rule, until they gain more power in the realm they want to conquer, they employ others to do their work for them.”
“What you are saying is the attacks made against me were done by their followers to eliminate the threat I pose to them, the attack on Celedryl’s village, and this latest attack on the duke and is family is there way of gaining a foothold on this world?”
“Yes it is. The first orc that attacked you I believe was truly happenstance. I believe he was a lone orc out to prove himself and return to his clan with trophies to show off his bravery and prowess, and of course, he could not resist Leadyl's scent. The attack of the wraith at Pine Hallow was their work as was the attack on Barge Road and the duke’s family. Another creature was sent to kill Orin and Sakura but it could not control its baser instinct to kill for the lust of blood that it lost sight of its mission to kill them.”
“Why was it sent to kill Sakura and Orin? What is their part in all of this?" Leadyl asked.
“They are agents of the light with very special talents in ferreting out agents of the dark that once they have they eradicate them quietly and professionally. Since, the light has seen fit to supply Orin with a gift it appears they have a far greater role than I first thought.”
“Who do they work for then? They cannot be going this alone."
“Very true Mitch they are not as you say going this alone. They are part of a well-developed organization or shall I say network of agents very powerful in their own right. Their leader is a very powerful wizard that has remained an enigma to even the most trusted of agents and to me. Again, as with the forces of the dark, not all agents have to be wizards to be useful as with Orin and Sakura.”
“How do they gain more power to eventually take of a realm?”
“Leadyl you have asked a question that could lead to hours and even days of speculation although it is a fair and very interesting question, it can create a lot of di
scussion and has certainly done so in the past. I will try to answer it as succinct as I can while separating the truth from the myth as I see it. In truth, if a world, a realm, a city or even a small village loses its core beliefs in goodness, love, compassion, and turns to hatred, the penchant to take innocent life that cannot defend themselves and outright commits murder for the joy of it, starts bloody wars with nothing but killing and conquest in mind the darkness gains the power it needs to take over a realm and exist there calling it theirs. Mitch’s world went through a time of Dark Ages where injustice, death and crimes against humanity were rampant, then the light started to gain back some of what it had lost and his world moved into the Middle Ages as sanity returned with love and compassion they eventually moved into the Golden Ages. With everything being cyclical, it is one example of the ebb and flow gains and losses between the light and the dark. Mitch your world fell back into the Dark Ages by the erosion of the core beliefs of goodness, love of life, fairness to all and over time deceit, mistrustfulness, hatred, death of the innocent and bloodlust caused an unleashing of an inferno that could have decimated your world. I believe your world like ours is in a time of a golden age but on the brink of fallen into dark times. I am also inclined to believe the battle to save your world from total darkness will be fought here and if this world falls into darkness then yours will be the next to fall. Please do not take me wrong there will be skirmishes on your world and I believe the guardians of the light have taken certain steps to protect your world from the agents of darkness,” Bilgrammus added quickly as he concluded.
“The dark ones gain strength when enough people let their essence, their being become so twisted in evil and darkness the light cannot return.”
“You have a good understanding Mitch, it is what most of us believe that actively fight the encroachments of evil. On our worlds many believe in the myth that what an individual or kingdom does will not have any real influence on the so-called collective multitudes. They believe that the actions of the few or especially the individual means nothing either for good or evil. So they do not wish to involve themselves in what they believe are petty conflicts or intrusions. We have our faults and weaknesses too. We tend to see the good in all people when there might not be a shred of good in them thereby underestimating how truly evil they are. The history our worlds are replete with accounts men and woman who were underestimated on how truly evil they had become so much so they were allowed to run roughshod over people and millions died for no apparent reason other than to disagree with these evil people or for the sake of conquest and the lust for blood.” Bilgrammus paused in contemplation before moving on to the reason he asked them here.
“We can spend far too long discussing this so I think it best to tell you why I have asked you here. I have a quest for you both that will entail some danger and harsh trials but if concluded successfully the reward will be great,” he paused seeing the look of concern on their faces. “I do not think that failure will result in death mind you but it will mean that we failed to gain certain things that will aid us in the fight against darkness,” he said trying to placate their fears. “The tower to the north at Lochhurst Lake will take the longest to get to and one to the south of us here in the swamp below the castle will be the most hazardous to reach. Each of you has gifts awaiting you in your respective towers. I am sure you are wondering how I know this to be true so I will tell you. I read it somewhere in a tome or scroll piled in the midst all this rubbish,” he said sweeping his hands around the room with grin trying to ease their apprehension.
“What is it that we will find in these towers Bilgrammus?” Leadyl asked tentatively.
“The odd part of all of this, it never said what would be there all it implied was that one would come from a distant world, we can presume it is you Mitch to claim their tower and another from here to claim the other in that way both worlds are joined as one. I believe it is the two of you more so Leadyl than you Mitch but again for all I know it is either Ethan or Danielle that will need to go on the quests. So now, for the crux of the problem I love this part when we shady, conniving, sneaky old wizards come up with this stuff. Somewhere in all of this rubbish you will find the answer you need,” Bilgrammus disclosed jovially again sweeping his arms around the room.
“Now wait a minute you told us that this so called rubbish would not help us and now you expect us to search through all of this mess,” Mitch grumbled waving his hands around mimicking Bilgrammus.
“Why of course my young friend you do not expect me to sit around here and search through this mess do you? For all I know, there could be a scroll somewhere here on how to make vegetable soup without vegetables. I will give you one clue, you have to pass a test of sorts, and if you can find your answers then you are truly the ones.”
Games of the Powerful Page 66